Holidays. Are they important to you ?

Yes, and no. I truly do not need to fly to the other side of the world, and prefer to travel by train, or by car with the dog, to neighbouring countries, or other regions of the country.

Flying is a once a year luxury, always for 2 weeks minimum and within Europe.

DH was the holiday planner - he loved the whole process - and I haven’t the heart now. We used to say that if he hadn’t been a teacher and then a schools inspector he could have been a specialist travel agent, and we had several great trips with his U3A Latin group.

As I have what looks as if it will be an expensive roof leak it’s probably as well I haven’t booked anything for this year.

Yes, holidays are very important to us.

We're also quite happy at home.

Short breaks within two or at the most three hours of home are my preferred option now, with four nights the maximum. Either self drive or by coach. Now and again I think I’d like to spend time in the Fjords or see Venice again, then I check insurance prices and think better of it. The booking process for any holiday along with any needs while we are away is my responsibility, keep things simple and I’m much more likely to set out feeling relaxed and pleased to go. We both have long term health issues, it’s very reassuring to know we could either take ourselves to hospital, be dispatched in an ambulance or be rescued by a family member.

Fortunately we’re both content pottering around, much as I love hearing about family and friends holidays out of the U.K. I’m happy here as thankfully is Mr C.

We find many of our peers are booking this, that and the other. DH would rather holiday at home, despite WFH. I'm happy to be at home too. I love our GC and our adult kids visiting (though all at once is hard work). I guess there are still places to see but I've lived in NZ and toured Australia. I've cruised 4 or 5 times and done most of Europe. I go to Eastern Europe (Poland and Slovakia) once a year and have no desire to visit America. Just don't fancy being that close to Trump! These days my carbon footprint is an issue I consider... cruising is worse than flying!! No, I'm happy here. The weather seems warmer last few years anyway.

I suppose we are all different but unlike many of our friends, holidays aren’t the be all and end all of everything. Sometimes, I think they’re using them to avoid life at home…or their fears and thoughts (which of course, go with you anyway). It can be tedious when friends are forever saying that they won’t be here for certain events or just to meet up. I live in an affluent area and I think many just use this as their base, and then fly off somewhere multiple times a year. Actually though, regardless of age, I think there’s an ever increasing number of people that live for travel or holidays. I read that the more dissatisfied someone is with their life, the more they will need to escape and maybe some even younger people hope that it will ease their stress levels…and I’m sure that it does sometimes all be it temporarily. Quite sad really (and not great for the environment).

I have a long list of places I want to visit and get very itchy feet if I haven’t got a few things booked; currently this year I’m going to stay in the south of France at my cousin’s in July and off to Central Asia in September. Plus probably visiting children in April/May.
I currently have a 95 year old dad and come the day I can escape I’ll be away for as long as possible. Planning to buy a holiday house in Greece and to cruise to the Antarctic.

Holidays have never been important to me. Rant follows:
When we went away for a fortnight in the school holidays, I'd be counting the days down until day eight, then I'd tell myself, "We've broken the back of it. We can go home in 7, 6, 5...... days." Our three children, taken away from their friends and possessions, would bicker and fight out of boredom. My husband expected me to make every decision from where and what to eat or to visit because he "made decisions every day at work" never mind that I also worked and looked after three children! Mine was truly a busman's holiday! Hey ho!

I think I just prefer to be in charge of myself and not have to spend a fortnight waiting for a plane to take me home.

I read recently that although younger people, particularly millennials, moan the most about global warming, they are also much more frequent flyers than the so called boomer generation.

I got more excited by a short break in UK than my last big trip to Australia. Airports are a nightmare plus I am always getting searched 🤷‍♀️
Currently in Faro where it is very windy but the sun is out now and again. I can cope with weather of any type but OH has to have sun all the way and I have told him to go alone if that is what he wants. I prefer to holiday alone or with a friend. Train holidays are the best nowadays

My late DfiL used love going into the travel agents to pick up brochures and would watch every travel programme on TV, but rarely booked anything. My DH and I like shorter trips ie upto 7 nights as I get home sick if any more than that. We also like city breaks as we’re not ones for sitting by a pool or beaches. We went to Fuerteventura in December to celebrate DH’s birthday and have just booked for Croatia in April for our 43wedding anniversary other than that we’ve nothing else booked. We will need to travel to Barcelona next April as DS2 is getting married there.

My late DH and I loved travelling. Always had a couple of long trips abroad each year plus several shorter trips at home or abroad but haven't travelled anywhere since DH passed away over 2 yrs ago. Have been thinking lately that maybe I could face a trip now on one of these solo holidays but quite nervous about doing so. Not really sure whether I can do it or not.

Holidays are more important than ever to me now that the grandchildren are of an age to accompany us, and tread in their parents footsteps. At Easter it's Normandy landing beaches and museums, and Bayeux Tapestry. In July its Rock in Cornwall. Both times with the dogs in tow.
We also have our own adult trips, this year in an elegant French resort, (not in our own property), to celebrate DH's retirement, plus later Amsterdam and Berlin. I am neither a sun worshipper nor a beach lover nor keen on a cruise. Each to their own.
Maybe you could do a train journey abroad with your husband or a short break to the UK south coast so you feel you've done something new?

We love being at home and we enjoy holidays too. We want to live in our home forever. That means we need to future proof it in case we become disabled. That will involve building a ground floor bedroom with an en-suite shower room. this will use up most of our saving and hopefully leave a small cushion for emergencies and to supplement our living costs. There will not be any money left over for holidays. We have decided to make our home and garden so nice that we don't mind about holidays because we want to feel that being at home is one long and lovely holiday. For us this is a solution we can live with.

I've never gone abroad much I enjoy lots of short breaks in the UK though both solo and with friends

When DH was alive he loved planning road trip holidays to somewhere in Europe. Early January the maps came out ( always still paper on the dining table) and the meticulous planning would start . We usually had two a year June and September, driving around and staying in various gites or holiday homes . I loved it and mentioned that I missed it to my friend the other day. She very wisely said that you wouldn’t be doing it now anyway and I remembered our last very stressful holiday when he was very poorly but insisted we went still. We grow older and home comforts become more important. I now go to the same place in Cornwall every year, I love it and like familiarity now. My friend who is off to Japan thinks I’m mad but there you are .

Most of our trips are done in Spain, and hold high cultural and historic interest.

The only time we do travel (fly to another E.U. Country) is during the late autumn or early spring when kids are at school and it is mostly retired or business travellers.

Otherwise we truly do not find it particularly pleasant anymore.

We also prefer to fly business class.

It costs more however, alot more pleasant.

That's interesting Kwest.And probably similar to you why holidays have moved well down our list of priorities .We love our home and I'm a keen gardener but will need some help as we get older.Added to that helping our DCs financially means prioritising what means most if we want to remain there.Plus we've had plenty of nice holidays and I actually get more pleasure from simple things at home now,and seeing our family enjoying themselves without too much financial stress.
We've just had an expensive new roof and want to maintain the property to the same high standard. We're in an airport hotel now ready for an early flight home tomorrow .Can't wait tbh !
A couple we know have a lovely home but are never in it.The husband actually told us recently he envied us being content at home.He wouldn't care if he never set foot in an airport again but his wife is obsessed with booking holidays and he goes along to humour her.I was genuinely surprised because we always assumed they both had the travel bug.Aside from which I also worry about the climate. There's no doubt freakier weather in general is occurring and I worry about future generations .

Of course young people would not agree but I often feel that the great age of travel is over . Probably the most glamorous time to be abroad was the 20s and 30s . Yes, I know it was for the privileged only but travel nowadays is a scramble , with many parts of the world under threat from overuse and the very real risk of seeing the big M sign, whether in the Amazon rain forest or at the South Pole .

Holidays don'y bother me these days. I live in a beautiful area, near the sea and the mountains, each just 5 minutes from mt door step. My late husband and I travelled all over the world but I am quite happy at home apart from the ver occasional cruise.

The one thing I have really enjoyed whilst away is the absence of litter.The streets have been spotless and virtually nothing at the roadsides. I love my home country but feel increasingly sad and angry how many people treat it like a giant rubbish bin.As DH pointed out we have come away at low season to a much bigger,less densely populated country.Nevertheless I wish we could have zero tolerance for littering at home and change the scruffy attitude of so many.

My hubby and I have never had the money to have a proper holiday but I do like going away on a city break for one or two nights sometimes with one of four of our grandchildren but this year we've been gifted a holiday by our daughter son in law and the 4 grandchildren in aug which we are thrilled to be asked on so many levels I would like to say we do not feel like cheap skates accepting that s generous offer for a number of reasons but we do a lot for our daughter's family they know our financial situation but most of all we help and they still enjoy our company as we do have great fun together so win win

I am the opposite to most people on here.
Not been abroad much.
Part choice. Part circumstance.
Trouble with me is, once I come back, I can more or less forget it. It doesnt have lasting impact.

Will I go more in future? Who knows.

Holidays and breaks have always been important to me and to DH. We planned to travel a lot once he retired. For over a year now he has been far too ill to leave home. He is now making slow progress with his recovery but is too nervous to leave home yet. It is a pleasure and a privilege to look after him. My life has changed dramatically and I occasionally have moments of feeling sorry for myself always because we can’t travel at the moment. I hope the day will eventually come and when it does we will explore more of Europe, the Canary Islands and Dubai which is lovely in the winter. We have gone away for the odd weekend in the UK but we wouldn’t have a holiday here. Just need a change of country. Also we’re fair weather travellers and only stay in hotels. I won’t do any household jobs when I’m on holiday.

We used to go abroad at least once a year and for eleven years we also visited Venice which we love.

However, for various reasons we had a few years’ hiatus from travelling and never regained the habit. I feel very unadventurous when I hear about the trips of others which are frequent and exotic and feel extremely judged when I lamely say we have no plans to go. The cost, also, seems to have rocketed since we took the children to France, Spain or Italy years ago.

I am happy and content to stay home at present and help look after my grandchildren. I love my house and garden and we make frequent trips to beautiful Devon.

That said, when the DD asked, at a week’s notice, whether we’d like to accompany her family on a trip to the Balearics we agreed and enjoyed it immensely.

Apart from a cheap flight to Majorca for our honeymoon (I recall it was £35 each!) and a holiday in Florida when the kids were teens) we have holidayed "on the cheap" with a touring caravan (two vans in nearly 40 years, still got Van 2), taking it to different European countries as well as the UK. Until 8 years ago when we decided to try a cruise to the Med. I always said I had no interest in such a boring holiday, and absolutely loved it. We are away shortly on a fly-cruise to the Greek islands and in 2026 our THIRD World cruise (long storey but the second was very cheap).

Obviously we are not strapped for cash, due partly to frugality compared to many and both of us having second jobs for many years (which could be fitted in alongside our main jobs). Yes, we had inheritances from our parents but passed those to our adult DDs.

I love the camaraderie on a cruise ship, with everything organised for you, and the choice of having lazy days as well as active ones.

I don't enjoy my home at all. It is too big to manage and too untidy cos DH does little housework or maintenance and is a serial hoarder. I love the caravan cos I make sure we only take essentials and one room is easy to keep clean and tidy. We can also please ourselves whether to just relax or go and explore, and often use it to visit friends and relatives around the UK without having to impose on them. We can also eat whenever and whatever we like.

DH unfortunately is now struggling with mobility so not sure how long we will be able to continue.